A rescue helicopter took the climber to safety

Teams from RAF Leuchars and Lossiemouth braved blizzards to save the man, who was located at 0430 GMT on Thursday in Raeburns Gully, Deeside, Aberdeenshire.

The climber, aged 61, was sheltering at a first aid post on Lochnagar.

He was then picked up by an RAF helicopter, which took him to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

Rescue crews had started to bring the man, who is understood to have twisted his ankle, off the hill on foot because of the bad weather conditions, including gale-force winds and heavy snow and sleet, which they said made the operation "near impossible".

These first aid posts have been placed within specific locations over a number of years by the rescue teams for exactly this type of occurrence Insp Andrew Todd Grampian Police

But the conditions cleared, allowing the helicopter from Lossiemouth to attend the scene.

Insp Andrew Todd, from Grampian Police, said the climber was lucky to have found his way to safety.

He added: "These first aid posts have been placed within specific locations over a number of years by the rescue teams for exactly this type of occurrence."

The rescue operation got under way after the climber's wife reported him missing when he failed to return from his solo climb on Wednesday.

The agencies involved in the rescue included Braemar and Grampian Police Mountain Rescue Teams, Royal Air Force teams from RAF Kinloss and RAF Leuchars, and the Aberdeen Mountain Rescue Team.